The Best Choice English Edition
by meliecom
Summary: Small OS. Post-Ep. 1x06: Bullet Proof. Sam was, and would always the best choice for her, not the safe choice, but the best choice... Because she knew really well that losing Sam would be a thousand times more hurtful than losing Luke.


_Hey guys! This is the first Rookie Blue story I ever wrote and I decided to translate it after request! I really hope you like it… It's a post episode 1x06 : Bullet proof, it's a Friendship-Hurt/Comfort because I'm always doing those I think!_

_This one is dedicated to my best Rookie Blue friend Kristin AKA Cabooklover/CaRBfan for her birthday because she's an incredible woman! 3_

_Also… A thought to all my Rookie Blue friends on the East Coast, all my thoughts are with you. Hope hurricane Sandy doesn't do too much damage. Stay safe everyone!_

* * *

Andy turned around and quickly got out of Luke's office, trying to contain her frustration. How could he say that? A young man just died; yes, it would lead to the conviction of a murderer, but still, they could've reached the same results by making Benjamin testify even he wasn't someone who the jury could trust completely. That man had a life! Maybe it wasn't the most honest life, but he had one; he had a job, and friends, a mother, projects and dreams.

The way Luke was talking about him, it seemed like he wasn't anything more than simple evidence, a necessary loss needed to close his case, and that, _that_ McNally just couldn't wrap her brain around… She would've needed Luke to tell her that he shouldn't have done it, that he regretted it, or at least reassured her that it wasn't the outcome he wanted. Instead, he had just told her that it was part of the job. She didn't want to be that kind of person, even if that was part of being or not a good cop.

Andy shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her head but she simply couldn't. She was constantly reliving that scene at the hospital, the moment when the nurse had come to tell them that they tried everything they could, but that he didn't make it.

That old woman who looked so crushed by the news had just fell in her arms, sobbing until she couldn't breathe anymore. Her sink would never be fixed, Andy thought as she sadly pushed the door of the police station.

She had to give Sam his keys back and she wanted to thank him for everything he had done today. She saw him waiting by his truck as he talked to Oliver and she took her time to walk the last few meters, trying to overhear what they were saying. She vaguely thought they were talking about her but then Oliver wished Sam a good night and he walked away.

"Thank you for the car." She said as she handed him his keys.

"Heard about your witness." He said looking her in the eyes, trying to determine how she was doing.

"Ugh, yeah, he was never a witness. He was always just evidence." The young woman replied, trying not to let show how those words were disgusting her. A few seconds went by as he was still looking at her and she continued. "It's… This job is… I guess I just have to get used to it, right?" She finally said, trying to convince herself that it would change one day.

"You need anything? Want to go for a drink? Need a ride home?" He asked her, really wanting to do something to help.

"No, I just need to… Actually what do you know about plumbing?" She asked him looking like she had something in mind.

"Jump in. Can't wait to see where this is going." Her partner said chuckling before walking to the driver side.

Andy smiled as she took place inside Sam's truck; turns out like after all she might be able to make a small difference in the life of the woman who had just lost her son because of their case, and because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She closed the door, a small smile still on her lips. Sam was probably the only person who would just follow her like that, without explanation or anything. After giving him the direction to get there she finally told him what he would have to do. The eyes of the man driving left the road momentarily to gaze at the young woman. His eyes were full of something that she couldn't quite identify.

Sam finally turned his gaze back to the road, telling himself that in addition to being a really promising rookie, she was a really good person and she didn't stop amazing him a little more each day. He knew very well that he had just lied to himself and to his friend when he had told Oliver that he was only waiting for his keys. He just couldn't help but get emotionally attached to her even if he shouldn't have.

His thoughts were interrupted as she pointed him the house they were looking for and he tried to park his F-150 in the small driveway before catching up with McNally who was almost running in front of him.

* * *

They got out of there about an hour and a half later, after Sam had fixed, not without some troubles, the broken pipes of the kitchen sink.

"Thanks, Sam." Andy said as they were going down the stairs, offering him a genuine smile.

"Oh well you're welcome ma'am, Sam Swarek, always there to help the good people of Toronto." He replied on the tone he used when he was joking.

She laughed a little without taking her eyes off the man that was still walking at her side. His hair were wet and tousled due to the small problems he had with the pipes and his shirt was sticking close to his body on a few spots where it was still humid. All that, added to the smile that was always making her heart melt, this charming smile that let his adorable dimples show, and she told herself that he definitely was a very handsome guy.

Yes, in a certain way Luke was the safe choice, she didn't think he would hurt her; he wouldn't leave her or cheat on her or anything like that. Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling the same thing towards Luke than she felt when her eyes rested on Sam Swarek. However, she had decided that, for once in her life, she would choose the good guy and the guy who was the most reliable instead of the one who would probably hurt her.

A voice got her out of her thoughts and she turned her head in the direction of who had spoken.

"Sorry, I didn't hear, what was it you said?" She asked him, pushing away the debate that was going on in her head.

"I asked you if the reason I'm here tonight, instead of Mister Perfection, had somehow something to do with what you said earlier, about the fact that you would get use to this job?" He asked her without taking his eyes off the road that was stretching in front of the truck.

"Maybe." She simply answered, not knowing if she wanted to talk about this with Sam.

"Come 'on McNally, I just did a forty-five minute drive. I stayed under a sink for more than an hour and I'm completely wet. Considering that it wasn't even my case to start with, I think you owe me at least this." He said with a half serious voice.

She sighed before finally answering him. After all, he was right; he deserved to know at least why she had wanted him to do that.

"Benjamin had seen everything." She sarted slowly. "My witness, evidence, whatever." She added in front of the questioning look of her partner.

"Then why didn't Callaghan just make him testify?" Sam asked, repeating almost to the word what Andy had proposed to Luke a few hours ago.

"Because he thought he wasn't a reliable witness." She explained as Sam expression saddened while he was slowly starting to understand what had just happened.

"Andy, listened, it's not your fault he died. Maybe Luke was right, maybe it wouldn't have worked to make him testify, but anyway, you're not the one responsible for his death." He said as his eyes left the road for a moment to look at her.

"I know that Sam, but I still can't get around to it. And Luke… Well Luke just says it's normal, that it's part of the job, part of being a good cop." She said looking at the road at her left, realizing they were almost already at her apartment.

The silence fell in the cabin for a couple of seconds as Sam gave her the time to gather around her thoughts and continue speaking.

"I just don't know if I'll ever get use to that. To telling myself that innocent people have to die because Luke don't believe a jury will believe what they saw. If to be good at this job we had to let good people like Benjamin Kelly die, I don't think I have what it takes. I don't want to be that kind of cop, and that's what I told Luke." She said as she slid her hands across her face, trying to keep the tears from running down her cheeks.

"And what did he tell you?" Sam asked, trying not to let show how much he was agreeing with the young woman sitting at his right.

"He told me that it didn't matter… That it didn't matter the kind of cop I wanted to be, that it didn't change anything, that it's just the reality of the job." She said looking at her partner from the corner of her eyes, trying to see what he was thinking.

He didn't answer right away as he looked like he was concentrating on the road. He was trying to find what he could tell her to make her understand she had the good way of thinking. Each life was important and none of them should be sacrificed just to close a case. He parked his truck in front of Andy's building before turning to look at her. She looked so lost. He just wanted to take her in his arms and tell her over and over that she was the one with the good way of thinking.

"What about you Sam? What do you think about all of that?" She asked him, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"I always thought that when we tried hard enough there was a way to solve every problem without putting anyone in danger." He simply told her before looking at her. "You remember the first case we worked together?" He asked her.

She smiled, thinking about that first day on the job with the person who was now her partner. Andy nodded, motioning him to continue.

"I could've incriminated Hill with the USB drive and the documents. If I had done so, the eight months I spent in deep cover would've meant something and I could've stopped this man who's one of the biggest heroin dealer since god knows when, but at what price?" He continued, asking her.

Andy was seeing where he was going with this, and she remembered like it was yesterday what happened when she had barged through the door with the USB drive. Sam would've done anything to protect Emily at that time. He knew she had made some mistakes, but she was a good person…

"Emily was a good person, like Benjamin was a good person. I think that it shouldn't have mattered what Luke thought or said he should've made sure that nothing he did would threaten the life of that young man." He said just like if he had read Andy's thoughts.

She turned her face to the window at her right to hide the couple of tears that had escaped her eyes when he reminded her of this day. Benjamin should've deserved a second chance too, just like Sam did with Emily when he had given her the money and put her on the bus to wherever he had sent her.

"Hey… Andy." He simply said as he unfastened his seatbelt, slowly resting a hand on the woman's shoulder, forcing her to turn around to look at him.

She raised a glistening look to him as he gazed at her with his beautiful brown eyes. They were so full of compassion and kindness that she totally lost herself in them as he was tenderly moving his hand against her cheek, caressing it with his thumb as he offered her a kind smile. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she rested her hand on the top of Sam's one.

"Callaghan got it all wrong. It's not the number of cases solved or the amount of criminals put behind bars, no matter at what price, that makes us good cops. It's the way we make a difference in the life of all those people we're helping, just like you did tonight with Benjamin's mother. That. Here." He said as he put a hand on Andy's chest just over her heart.

She looked at him for a moment, not able to hold her tears anymore as Sam was telling her everything she had wanted to hear from Luke a couple of hours ago.

"That, is what tells me you're going to be an incredible cop, because you care about people, McNally, don't ever let anyone make you believe otherwise." He told her on a tone that was so gentle than a shiver ran through her from head to toe.

He smiled at her again, wiping her tears with the tip of his thumb. She nodded as she leaned softly into Sam's hand. He withdrew it only to attract her against him awkwardly as he tried hugging her over the armrests of the truck but she didn't mind them, and she put her arms around him as she buried her nose in his neck.

He slowly slid his hands on her back, whispering in her ear that she was an incredible person as much as she was an incredible cop and that if Callaghan couldn't see that, well he sure could. She nodded again, taking in this smell that was almost driving her crazy as his warm hands were still caressing her.

She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she as feeling totally at her place right now. Here, with the armrest pushing against her stomach, but in the arms of her partner and friend. She never felt that much safe with Luke, even when they were in his bed, under the blankets in the aftermath of sex.

She sighed, realizing that maybe she had made the wrong choice. Yes, Luke was the one looking like the 'good guy' but underneath his 'bad boy' appearances Sam was so much more than just a good guy. Sam was her partner, and he was always there for her, whether it was to find a suspect or to fix a sink.

Anyway, no one could deny the attraction that existed between Andy and Sam. It had always been there, and the young woman was starting to think she was tired of staying away from him because he tried to look tough on the outside just to hide the more sensitive part of him. Sam was, and would always be, the best choice for her, not the safe choice, but the best choice… Because she knew very well that losing Sam would be a thousand times more hurtful than losing Luke…

* * *

_So you liked it? Just tell me so by leaving a small review! Since it was my first one and it was written a long time ago I would love to hear you thoughts about it!_


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